Crazy Busy

Five or six years ago, I emailed Kevin DeYoung to see if he would be willing to speak at our conference the following October, which was then about 18 months away. I had just read Why We're Not Emergent, and though the book was doing well, Kevin hadn't really hit the conference circuit yet.

Kevin responded personally and was enthusiastic about the idea. He seemed surprised that we were planning things that far in advance. He encouraged me to contact him again when we had more details.

About six months later, I contacted him again. Unfortunately, during these six months the demands on his schedule had greatly increased. This time, I did not get a personal response. I got a response from his secretary, who informed me that his schedule would not allow him to participate.

I've often kicked myself for not staying on top of the email communication with Kevin. But I understood and assumed that he was probably way busier than he would like to be.

My suspicions about Kevin's ministry being quite busy seem to be true. He's just published an excellent book entitled Crazy Busy. I highly recommend it to those who are struggling with the demands of a hectic life (i.e., everyone). His advice is sound, biblical, and cuts to the root issues in the hearts of those who struggle with being "too busy."

There are lots great insights in the book, but let me just give one sample from a chapter entitled, "A Cruel Kindergarchy." In the chapter, DeYoung suggests that one reason we're too busy is because of our child-centered lifestyles. We're "freaking out" about our kids, assuming that if we don't create an idyllic environment for them, they'll flounder in life.

After discussing some data illustrating how our parenting doesn't always affect our children in the way we think it will, DeYoung concludes:

How we parent matters less than we think when it comes to the sort of person our kids will become in twenty years but it still matters a great deal in determining what our kids' present experience will be and how they will remember their childhood twenty years from now. We may not be able to shape our child's future identity as much as we'd like, but we can profoundly shape their experience of childhood in the present. 

That's why one of the best things we can do for our kids is to find a way to stop being so frantic and frazzled. 

There's lots of good stuff in here. Pride, misplaced priorities, the lure of modern technology, and the refusal to rest are all topics that are covered well by DeYoung as he considers how "crazy busy" we are.

Oh, and I almost forgot the best part: the book is really short. I read it during my daughter's gymnastic's class while occasionally answering email while my wife was taking our boys to a parade and our other daughter to her cross country meet.

Baptismal Service on October 6

I'm looking forward to our baptismal service on October 6! If you'd like to participate, please contact the church at 309-508-1755 or info@bethanycommunitychurch.org.

Many believers rightly understand that baptism doesn't "save" you. Baptism doesn't bring about the restoration of your relationship with God. What many believers fail to understand is that baptism is still extremely important and intricately connected to our salvation experience. Baptism proclaims the story of my salvation.

If you haven't been baptized and are wondering about the significance of baptism, let me encourage you to check out this message from John Piper on the meaning and importance of baptism.


T

The transcript of the message can be found here: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/what-is-baptism-and-how-important-is-it

Looking Back at Luke

Some of you may have seen these two wordlets already, but I wanted to put them side-by-side in one place. I know wordlets have been around for awhile but I had never done one until last week. I feel kinda like a person saying, "Hey, everyone! Look at this cool thing called 'email'!"

The first image is a graphic representation of the words that occurred most frequently in my sermon manuscripts.

LUKE SERMONS:

And here is a wordlet with a graphic representation of the words that occur most frequently in the text of Luke.

GOSPEL OF LUKE TEXT:

I don't have any profound observations to offer. There were a few quick brief thoughts I had:

First, some of the differences between the two wordlets are the function of one being a sermon and the other being a narrative text. I'm not going to use the word "saying" a lot in the sermon, whereas Luke will use the term frequently.

Second, the similarities on the big issues are encouraging. Jesus, God, Lord, kingdom dominate both wordlets.

Third, it seems the mid-sized words are most important in the sermon wordlet in understanding the themes of the sermon. The kingdom, love, sin, repentance are dominant themes in Luke and the wordlet shows that.

Finally, I was encouraged by some of the words that weren't in the sermon wordlet. Illustrations are helpful and I try to use them in sermons. But the main things my sermon manuscripts are focused on is the text. I think there's a good balance.

Looking forward to Sunday and our new series: The Promise of the Gospel!

Ask for the Ancient Paths by Pastor Ritch

Many of our high school graduates have begun classes at a college or trade school or begun their journey directly into the marketplace.  What an exciting time of life!  I recently wrote a letter to these high school graduates that I share with you now in hopes that you may pass it on to a young adult for their encouragement.  Please pray diligently for the young men and women that God has included in your life.  The battle against the devil, the world and the flesh is strong.  Thank God that He is stronger yet! 

Dear Graduate,

Congratulations on your graduation from high school!  I rejoice with you in your past accomplishments and pray for your future.  I pray for God to be very real and very wonderful to you.  It is through knowing Him that we find sense in the disorder of this world, joy in the brokenness, and direction in the chaos.

You have some great decisions ahead of you as you seek to carve out a life.  You will have more freedom than you have ever had and more opportunity for doing both good and evil.  May God give you wisdom to know which path leads to life and grace to choose to walk on that path.  Some of you are about to begin college life, while others have already entered the marketplace.  I am praying for you as you seek to advance God’s reputation in a world that does not know how great He is.

One verse that I hope encourages you in the years ahead is from the prophet Jeremiah:  Thus says the LORD:  “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16)

This world is full of paths and you will have to choose from the myriad of options in front of you.  Many of those paths will look lush, fun and pleasing.  God’s counsel is to ask for the “ancient paths.”  This counsel contradicts with your nature.  Your fleshly nature will be drawn to the paths that are new, exciting, pleasant or attractive in appearance.  The key element of a path is not its surface, its landscape or its views, but the key element of a path is where it leads you.  God reminds us of four key truths in this passage from Jeremiah. 

1.  God calls you to ask for the ancient paths.  You will not find the ancient paths unless you ask for them and seek after them.  The world around you hides them from your sight.  Only those who seek God’s paths will find them.  Only those who ask for God’s ways will be given such wisdom.  So begin each day asking for the ancient paths.  God will direct you!  Know that God’s map to these ancient paths is His Word and God’s guide is the Holy Spirit.  God reveals in His Word that the path is really a Person:  God’s own Son.  He will be found by those who seek after Him.  So as you ask for the ancient paths, search the Scriptures and depend upon God’s Spirit to give you light and look for Jesus.

2.  God describes the ancient path.  God describes the ancient paths as “where the good way is.”  Jesus will never lead you into harmful ends.  The devil knows that, but he is crafty.  He does not want you to desire the ancient paths and so he does two things.  First, he masks the goodness of the ancient paths so as to make them despised and rejected.  He will tempt you to question whether God’s paths really do lead to life.  Second, he decorates the new paths so as to make them loved and embraced.  He will tempt you to think that other paths are wonderful and wise.  Please remember how God describes the ancient paths!  Those who say the ancient paths are not good profess to be wiser than God.

3.  God commands you to walk on the ancient path.  Of course, it is not enough to know about the ancient paths or even to agree with them.  Paths only lead to life if we walk in them.  Obedience to God is key to everything.  God does not call you to walk alone.  He is with you.  He has also given you His church so that you walk with others on this path.  I urge you to commit your lives to a local church and walk on God’s ancient paths with others of faith.  You will need the body of Christ to obey God’s command to faithfully walk on the ancient paths.  

4.  God promises that you will find rest on the ancient path.  There is no rest like soul rest.  A rest that quiets your heart when life gets hard.  And life will be hard.  You will endure trials and difficulties of all kinds.  God only knows the difficulties that await you.  This truth need not bring worry or anxiety.  God promises rest for our souls as we walk the ancient paths.  What a sweet gift soul rest is!  This gift is yours as you walk the ancient paths!  Listen to Jesus’ promise in Matthew 11:28-29:  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Remember God loves you.  Please send me your prayer requests as you have needs.  My email is ritch@bethanycentral.org.  I want to pray for you.  My heart is always open to you to talk or pray together.

Much love in Christ,

Pastor Ritch

Why I Love Crying Babies in a Worship Service

About once a week someone comes up to apologize for something that happened during the worship service.

“Sorry my cell phone went off.” (I once had to apologize to myself for this.)

“Sorry about my eyelids being kinda heavy.” (Apology not accepted.)

“Sorry I kept glaring at you and shaking my head and pointing to my watch.” (I forgive you, irate nursery worker.)

By far the most frequent apology I get is, “Sorry about my baby crying during the worship service. I was so embarrassed.”

Let me offer two words of encouragement for you disrupters of the service in general. First, I probably didn’t notice whatever it is for which you are apologizing. I'm pretty busy up there. Second, if I did notice, I almost definitely didn’t know it was you.

Let me also say this as a word of encouragement for the parents of young ones in our congregation: I'm grateful for crying babies! We are so glad you are here!

When I hear the sounds of babies in the worship service, I thank God that He has blessed our church with so many little ones. The sounds of young voices expressing their displeasure, while certainly occasionally distracting, encourage our church by revealing that there is life in this place.

Imagine what a church with no children would sound like. Imagine the still silence of a lifeless church. 

I’m not advocating that you pinch your children to help them announce their presence. And I definitely think it is wise for parents to remove screaming children from the worship service until they calm down (the children, that is). I also think it is often helpful for parents to use our nursery ministry for children when it is convenient for their family.

What I’m trying to communicate to our church and to you who are parents is simply to rejoice that God has given our church life! The corporate worship service is not some well-choreographed musical number. It’s a time when we as a family get together to worship and talk about God. We rejoice in the presence of our youngest members!

Sermon Preparation on a Thursday afternoon

I am so excited to study God's Word!  Its clarity and depth are incredible.  I just spent the last hour or so tracking down the use of the Hebrew word, "hinneh" in Esther.  The use of the word in Esther 6:5 ("behold Haman"), 7:9 ("behold the gallows"), and 8:7 ("behold the house of Haman") as structural markers to the Haman narrative could easily be a thesis topic.  The author is using this little Hebrew word as a subtle way to mark God's sovereign design in the collapse of Haman and his schemes.  It "just so happened" that Haman was in the courtyard when the king was just figuring out that he wanted to honor Mordecai, and so the king's young men say, "Behold Haman." (6:5)  It "just so happened" that the eunuch Harbona speaks up to the king (who is furious--and who wants to say anything to a furious king??) to say, "Behold, the gallows that Haman built for Mordecai." (7:9)  It "just so happened" that the king takes on the urgency of saving the whole of the Jewish people by beginning his statement, "behold, the house of Haman." (8:7)  What a beautiful way to tie these three sections together (and as nearly as I can tell, "hinneh" is not used anywhere else in Esther).

I have not encountered an English translation which preserves this structural marker precisely.  For that matter, it is debatable if structural markers should be preserved, if one desires a good English translation.  The structural markers of the original languages are not necessarily good structural markers in English, and, frequently, the markers are so subtle that I am guessing that the translators often miss them inadvertently.  The KJV and NASB come close to preserving them and come close in this instance.  It is interesting that the ESV does not. Even though I use the ESV, both in my main reading of the Bible and in preaching, I find that it does not preserve structural markers very well, particularly in the Old Testament.

Still, structural markers are important to bring clarity and color to the text of scripture.  The author of Esther clearly intended the reader to note this marker.  This is yet another reason why pastors should be proficient in the original languages of the Bible.  If we believe in the verbal inspiration of scripture, that is, that the very words of the Bible are God-breathed, we who preach must know both the words and how they are put together if we are to preach authoritatively.  The longer that I study the Bible, the more that I discover the beauty of the Word of God and the incredible brilliance of the human authors.  Indeed it draws me into worship of the ineffable divine Author.

I am so grateful to the Lord that He provided me the experiences and teachers that enable me to work through Esther in Hebrew.  It is actually a worship experience here in my study!!  Thank you, Lord, for showing me this little, subtle marker to point to your work "behind the scenes" in the downfall of Haman. 

Working Parents and the Fruitless Pursuit of Joy in the Workplace

In October 2003, The New York Times Magazine ran an article entitled “The Opt Out Revolution.” The article profiled several women who were dropping out of the workplace in order to be stay-at-home moms. 

The women in the article were successful individuals who had decided that the place of fulfillment for them could not be found in the workplace and so turned their attention homeward.

A few weeks ago, a follow-up article appeared on The New York Times website entitled, “The Opt Out Generation Wants Back In.” 

The basic gist of the new article was that some of the women who had opted out nine years ago now want back in the workplace. Due to changing life circumstances, divorce being the predominant example given in the article, they now have a need for employment. The idyllic life they thought they were pursuing came crashing down around them.

It’s a sad article for many reasons. It hurts to read the stories of women and men who have found happiness in the workplace and at home elusive.

The purpose of this article isn’t to give a theology of women or men in the workplace. I’m wary of simplistic statements about decisions families make as they strive to pursue God’s glory with their lives.

Let me just share three quick thoughts I had as I read these articles.

First, my heart aches for single parents who are faced with the difficulty of trying to provide all of the financial, emotional, and spiritual support for their children.

What an incredibly difficult journey some of these women have had to face. When they stepped away from the workplace, they had no idea that their world would so dramatically change in a few short years. I pray that God provides for them in profound ways.

Second, both women and men are pursuing joy in things that will not bring satisfaction.

God has called men and women to live sacrificially for the benefit of others. It is wonderful and godly as it is to enjoy your work but ultimate satisfaction flows from being obedient to God not in the work itself. If I cannot find joy in a mundane job, I won’t find lasting joy as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company either.

It doesn’t surprise me, then, to read that women and men found the workplace unfulfilling. What drove some of the women profiled home was not joy in a calling but fleeing from a place that hadn’t brought them joy.

In the original article from 2003, one person noted: “Among women I know, quitting [their job] is driven as much from the job-dissatisfaction side as from the pull-to-motherhood side.” I don’t know the hearts of these women, but there is a potential that there was not an honest assessment of the potential idols that were causing their unhappiness. One idol, children, may have simply replaced the previous idol of the workplace.

Third, families struggle to address the core issues that caused dissatisfaction.

In many of the situations profiled, my heart ached as husbands and wives acknowledged that they had been deeply unhappy for some time and had not really taken steps to address the heart issues that were causing that unhappiness.

One woman said of her husband: “He’d come home at night, and I’d want to talk about what was going on at school and with the other parents, and I’d get frustrated he was not finding it more engrossing.”

How tragic! A husband, who should find great joy in the lives of his children, found the home a place that was too mundane for his consideration. He had bought into the lie that it is in the sphere of the workplace that his worth will be validated.

The problem for women and men is not their presence in the workplace. In Proverbs 31 we encounter a woman who has a significant and profitable position in the community. The problem is why they make the decisions they do about involvement in the workplace. The Proverbs 31 woman’s delight is not in the prestige of her position but rather in the Lord.

Moms and dads struggle to find joy and satisfaction in the ministry to which God has called them.

The answer to the heartache I find in this article for both husbands and wives is an embracing of the self-sacrificial love to which God has called them.

For wives, this means seeing the home not as a place in which she “does her time” until she can really begin to live but rather as a place where she can joyfully serve her family in whatever way God calls her to do so. Practically, this means there may be a period of time where she decides to limit her time in the workplace. It may mean passing on opportunities to advance in order to fulfill her responsibilities to nurture her children and serve as a partner for her husband.

For husbands, this means seeing the home not as a distraction from the “real” world but rather as his primary sphere for ministry and the purpose of his work. Practically, this may mean that he passes on opportunities to advance up the corporate ladder. It may mean that he may abandon hobbies for a period of time because of the need to be at home.

For all of us, may we find contentment with what God has provided and joy in wherever He has placed us.